Russia, the Olympics’ Awkward Guest

Despite the country being barred from the Winter Games, Russian athletes and fans showed up and had a good time.

A cheerleader at a Russia hockey game.Credit

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Photographs and Text by James Hill

Feb. 23, 2018

They arrived for the opening ceremony dressed in pale gray coats, waving to the crowd and taking selfies as if to prove to themselves that they were really there, after all, at the Olympics.

In fact, 169 Olympic Athletes From Russia, as they are officially known, arrived in South Korea for the Pyeongchang Games. After the scandal over Russia’s state-controlled doping scheme at the 2014 Sochi Games, it seemed as if there would be no athletes from that country at all.

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Team Russia at the opening ceremony.

Watching them over the past two weeks has been to witness strange things.The letters OAR replaced RUS on outfits and uniforms as if some newly born nation were competing.

The Olympic flag has been shown next to the athletes’ names on television and also raised at medal ceremonies, though the tally of medals has been subdued because many of those who had won competitions in Sochi were absent because of doping accusations.Not until Day 14, with the victory of Alina Zagitova in the women’s figure skating, did Russia claim its first gold medal.

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Uniforms are stamped with OAR.

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Liubov Nikitina at aerials.

The Russian supporters in the stands took it upon themselves to make up for the quasi anonymity of the athletes and to push back against the International Olympic Committee’s punishment. Some have come from relatively nearby cities of the Russian Far East such as Vladivostok, Magadan and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.Others appear to be part of organized groups, arriving at the games with matching hats and shirts bearing the phrase, “Russia in My Heart,” a poke at the location of the flag missing on the athletes’ attire.

They have been particularly visible at the hockey games, where cheerleaders have whirled pom-poms and they have belted out Russian folk songs.

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Getting spray painted at Sports House.

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Fans at a Russia hockey game.

Another center of action for fans has been the country’s Sports House (it was prohibited from calling it Russia House), near the cluster of venues in coastal Gangneung.Gigantic Matryoshkas adorn the walls, Russian pop karaoke pumps up the atmosphere and fans gather to watch games on a giant screen.

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Ilia Burov received a bronze medal.

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The Olympic flag in place of the Russian one.

The behavior of the athletes, however has been muted and they are visibly on edge.This week a Russian curler, Alexander Krushelnytsky, who had won bronze in the mixed doubles curling event, failed a doping test and left the Games.

On Saturday, the International Olympic Committee is expected to announce whether the Russian delegation will be allowed to march at the closing ceremony with its national flag and its usual uniforms.